forbear

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

Also spelled foreborn

US /fɔrˈbɛr/ UK /fɔːˈbeə/ See IPA manual

Homophones

forebear /ˈfɔrbɛr/

Meanings

1

verb
to refrain from or hold back patiently from doing something

She could not forbear to mention his lateness.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to refrain from or hold... refrain abstain desist withhold resist forgo cease

Opposites

persist continue indulge proceed

Word family

Forms forebore

Derived forms forbearance forbearingforbearer

Related forms bear

Etymology

From Old English forberan ('to bear up against, endure, abstain from'), combining the prefix for- ('away, abstention') with beran ('to bear, carry'). The prefix marks privation or refraining.

forberan Old English beran Old English *bʰer- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# forbear

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /fɔrˈbɛr/
**IPA (UK):** /fɔːˈbeə/

## Meanings
1. to refrain from or hold back patiently from doing something

## Examples
- She could not forbear to mention his lateness.

## Synonyms
- refrain
- abstain
- desist
- withhold
- resist
- forgo
- cease

## Antonyms
- persist
- continue
- indulge
- proceed

## Derived Forms
- forbearance
- forbearing
- forbearer

## Related Forms
- bear

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: forberan
- Root: beran
- Root: *bʰer-

## Etymology
From Old English forberan ('to bear up against, endure, abstain from'), combining the prefix for- ('away, abstention') with beran ('to bear, carry'). The prefix marks privation or refraining.

## AI Etymology
Forbear comes from Old English forberan ('to bear up against, endure, abstain from'), combining the prefix for- ('away, abstention') with beran ('to bear, carry'). The prefix marks privation or refraining. The historical trail runs through Old English forberan, Old English beran and Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-. In modern use it means to refrain from or hold back patiently from doing something. Derived formations include forbearance, forbearing, forbearer; related forms include bear.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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